They Never Knew
by kittyge
Summary: One-Shot (MaiJoey) (kinda bittersweet) Joey's friends are worried about him, he's been quiet ever since he came back from his trip. Only Joey knows what happened on his trip, and he won't tell.


It's a long one-shot story I've wrote, I had to write it for English. (We had to write a story and the play Hamlet had to mentioned...weird I know!) I just really like the Joey/Mai coupling and it's hard to find them to read, so I added another one. If you don't like the coupling, then you might not like this fic. (I guess the story is bittersweet)

Rated: T for teen because of thoughts of suicide, I mean I really shouldn't have to up the rating, it's not bad or anything...but if anybody feels I should, I will...but I think it's fine

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh...or Hamlet

**They Never Knew**

Joey sighed. He set his bookbag down and looked up at the teacher. She was saying something about something, and Joey's mind was drifting. He only had a few more days of school and then he would be completely free.

"Joey, c'mon our group has to go up!" Tea said, pushing his shoulder.

Joey then realized that today was their Hamlet presentations. He had to be Hamlet, and Yugi was Laertes. Tea was Gertrude, the queen and Tristan was Claudius, the king. They recited their lines in front of the class. Of course they had to act them out, and Joey had a fun time stabbing Yugi with a cardboard sword. Yugi drastically fell to the ground. Then Joey died, and the teacher applauded at their efforts. They returned to their seats and they continued to take notes about Hamlet. The bell rang and all the students ran out of the room.

"That story was weird, I mean how Hamlet considered suicide because of what was going on in his life was insane." Yugi said. Tea and Tristan agreed. Joey didn't say anything for awhile.

"I don't think he was insane, I just think he needs somebody to talk to, I mean he did have a lot going on." Joey reasoned. The others looked at him, maybe they were surprised because he seemed smart, but that was unlikely.

"He just needed friends, but no matter what the trouble is I don't think suicide is the way to go." Tristan argued, he was looking at Joey the whole time.

"Well whatever, I don't think he was crazy, I think he was reasonable." Joey said ending the quarrel. Joey than gave them a silly grin, and the others smiled back. Tristan was still worried about Joey, he seemed rather quiet. Tristan quickly pulled Yugi aside while Joey went to his locker.

"Do you think something is weird about Joey?" Tristan asked.

"Well, he has a weird view of Hamlet, but other than that no. I mean he has been acting quiet though." Yugi replied. His bright eyes were filled with concern.

"He's been quiet ever since he got back from that trip. Maybe something is wrong with his sister." Tristan analyzed. Yugi nodded, but then stopped.

"He would of told us." Yugi responded. Yugi knew Joey better than anybody.

"Yeah, but Joey thinks suicide is okay and he might not..."Tristan tried to explain but Yugi cut him off.

"He would of told us." Yugi said firmly. Tristan dropped the topic because he lost and because Joey was walking up to them.

"Let's go to history." Joey sighed. He looked unhappy. It was a group work day, and they could have a chance to talk. They walked to the next class in silence. When they arrived, they got into their groups. Tea, Tristan, Yugi and Joey sat in the corner where they couldn't be heard.

Tristen brought up the topic of suicide and life again. Joey just sighed, they would never get it. They would never know how it felt, to want to commit such a act. They would never know, in fact Joey himself doubted he knew. It all happened while he was at his trip. He went to America to visit his sister and to take care of some college business. The group had started working on the project and Joey fell asleep. The group thought nothing was wrong because he usually did this.

Flashback at Joey's trip/Joey's Dream

It was a few weeks ago that Joey went to visit his sister. He had been so happy to look into her eyes and know that they saw him. He could talk to her face to face. Joey was delighted to know that she was succeeding in school. She also told him how much fun she was having living with her mom.

Joey meet her at the airport. Serenity helped Joey get all his stuff and get a cab to her house. They lived in a huge brick house on the corner of main street. Their lawn was huge, and to get into the house one had to pass through security. Joey's mother had remarried a very rich man.

Serenity helped Joey get his bags out of the cab. They walked through the gates and up the stone pathway. Serenity knocked on the door, and her mom answered.

"Where were you, I was so worried!" her mom answered.

"I went to get Joey, remember?" Serenity asked. Her mom's happy expression faded. Joey put his bags on the ground. She frowned at him.

"Joey, I'm sorry about this but you have to get off my property!" his mom yelled. Joey was waiting for her to yell that she was kidding, but she didn't.

"Ma..what do ya mean?" he asked.

"I've moved on...and up, Serenity and her new father Rick and I have moved on, not just me and you would only hold us back. Now shoo before I have Rick call security." his mom commanded. Serenity started to cry and tried to say no, but Joey hugged her.

"No...it's fine Ren, you'll be fine, I'll be fine...I will see you again." Joey whispered to her. He wiped her eyes, and started to walk away. He left his stuff in front of the door. Joey didn't look back. Rain slowly started to fall, and now Joey was alone in a unfamiliar city. There was nobody there for him. He didn't know what to do but walk.

He walked for miles, thoughts were running through his head with each step. Why did she kick him out, why can't things work out for Joey Wheeler were just some of these thoughts. His thoughts turned into memories, he remembered every time he screwed up. When he was five, he broke a plate and got beaten for it. When he was 10, he watched his father drink and he told him to stop. He was severely punished for that. When Joey went through tournaments, he screwed up and let his friends get hurt. Joey had to make himself stop thinking these thoughts.

Joey had somehow wondered to a wooded area. The roads were no longer highways, but regular streets. Trees surrounded him. Joey looked around.

"Damn, how did I get here?" he asked aloud. It was kind of peaceful. The sky was dark and rain was falling faster than before. Joey looked for shade, but all he saw was trees. He started walking through the woods. It was dark so he couldn't tell where he was going. Eventually he reached a cliff. He was far from it, but he could make out a figure sitting on the edge.

'That's not to smart, who sits on the edge of cliffs?' Joey wondered. He wanted to go closer, but he was afraid. The person looked over their shoulder. Joey hid behind a tree. His breath was going faster and faster, and his heart was pounding through his chest. The person was talking.

"That's right, nobody knows you're here...nobody is coming for you now..." the person said through sobs. Joey could tell it was a women. The rain was falling harder, and it would be easy to slid off the cliff if one was not careful. Joey kept coming closer and closer. Then the person threw something. Joey covered his mouth, so he wouldn't scream. He looked at the thrown object. It was a duel disk, but it was old and scratched. The persons cards were still in it. Joey had a feeling that the women would jump, but he didn't want to shock her. He couldn't let her jump.

He stepped out from the shade of the tree. He mumbled, but the women didn't glance. Joey didn't know what to say. The sound of the rain was loud, and the thunder didn't help.

"Ya know, jumping wouldn't really help." he yelled, he hoped he didn't scare her. He didn't.

"Why?" she yelled back.

"It's a long way down..."Joey yelled back to her. His breath was becoming short, after all he did walk a very long distance. She motioned for him to come sit by her. She was in need of some company. Joey did. He just looked down. Now Joey was sitting on the edge of a cliff. He looked at the women. Her long blonde hair was covering her face. She didn't want him to see her. That's when Joey knew. He smiled.

"Ya know...Harpys can fly, but I doubt they can come out of the cards to save you when you jump." Joey finished.

"True..but wait..."the women said, but how did he know about the Harpy Lady. She flung back her hair and looked at the guy who had sat by her. He was none other than Joey Wheeler. She was speechless. She just looked at him. She didn't blink and nothing else that was going on around her was important.

"Funny how we always meet in these weird situations, huh Mai." Joey said. She didn't answer for a while. Mai looked away.

"Yeah...I guess." she whispered. Joey had suddenly become nervous. He was fiddling with his hands.

"Now why would the great Mai Valentine be sitting on the edge of a cliff, I thought I was the stupid one!" Joey said. He avoided her stare.

"Why would the great Joey Wheeler be sitting next to Mai Valentine on the edge of a cliff?" Mai asked. Joey just laughed, but stopped. The rain was harder, which really meant it was hail. It was freezing and Mai was shivering.

"Why are you here Joey?" Mai asked, her voice suddenly became harsh and angry.

"I could ask you the same thing, but I won't. I'm her because I was visiting my sister but my mom kicked me out. I walked from the city to here." Joey snapped back. Mai just made an oh sound. She looked over the cliff.

"It's funny, I could end it all right now. There would be no more bad dreams, no more shadow realms, no more pain, I could just jump. Everything would be over with, and I could move on. There would be no more men stalking me or anybody else hurting me, I could jump. But then if I did jump...I wouldn't get to listen to you talking me out of jumping." Mai said. Tears were falling down her face. Joey finally looked at her.

"I could jump, but I have to much here. So do you!" Joey argued, he actually had nothing to say to her last remark. He wanted to help her, but her pain was too much for him to bear.

"I don't have anything here..." Mai whispered. Joey nudged her.

"You've got me." Joey replied. Mai laughed. She laid her head on his shoulder. She looked over the water rushing at the bottom of the cliff.

"Joey, you always come at the right time.'' Mai said. Joey smiled.

"I do?" he asked in his typical goofball way. Mai rolled her eyes. Joey stood up, and grabbed Mai's hand and pulled her up. He lead her away from the cliff. The rain was falling around them, but they didn't know.

"I can't believe you were gonna jump!" Joey said. He was so thankful that he showed up.

"Joey, please don't tell anybody what happened. Your friends already think I'm crazy, ever since I joined...well you know." Mai pleaded. Joey sighed. He looked at her and could tell she was completely serious. It suddenly thundered so loud that Mai jumped. She was now standing really close to Joey. Joey grabbed her when she jumped and he pulled her closer to him. She looked up at him, and he pulled her into a kiss. It was sweet and passionate at the same time. When they finally pulled away, Mai laughed.

"What's so funny?" Joey asked, he was a little annoyed at her laughing at him.

"We are standing in the middle of the woods, drenched...I mean what do we do now?" Mai asked.

"I...wow I really don't know." Joey replied, "Find somewhere to stay for a night I guess." Joey held Mai's hand and started to lead her out of the woods.

"Wait!" Mai yelled. He stopped and he let go of her hand. She ran over to her duel disk and grabbed her cards. Joey smiled. She ran back to him. He put his arm on her shoulder and she put her head on his.

"As soon as were out of the woods it will be over." Mai said. Joey looked at her confused.

"I mean, what we have. It's crazy, I hate you...I hate how you make everything so great and perfect and how you make me go absolutely crazy and I hate it...I mean all I think about is how I hurt you, and how I only want to be with you, and I hate it. I never needed anybody else before. Now that I'm standing here in the middle of the woods with you I can admit that I do need you. I mean you don't know how much you mean to me, I mean I have you and that's about it. But, I know as soon as we leave these woods, we can never be together. Your friends don't trust me with you, and I don't trust me with you. If I ever hurt you again...I'd...I don't know what I'd do. I just know it would never work. I love you Joey, but we can never be together and it tares me up inside..." Mai started crying. Joey held her.

"I...I love you too...and I know, we couldn't be together. It's like the world is against us, just everything goes wrong. It really sucks, but I suggest we walk really slow." Joey said, he was holding Mai's head in his hands. He was making her look into his eyes. Mai smiled, and kissed him. They knew that they were in love, but they could never be together...

"Joey, wake up!" Tea screamed. Joey woke up with a start.

"Sorry, guys." Joey apologized. He rubbed the back of his head.

"Joey, you've been acting weird, and we are worried about you. Is something wrong with you sister?" Tristan asked.

"What? My sister, no..." Joey replied and then smiled. Yugi gave him a perplexed look.

"I'm kinda glad that my mom wouldn't let me visit Serenity and that she kicked me out of their house." Joey said.

"She WHAT? You never told us that!" Yugi yelled. He was worried about his friend.

"Oops." Joey remarked and he covered his mouth.

"What did you do, I mean did you walk around town...I mean you were by yourself, oh Joey it could of been dangerous!" Tea exclaimed.

"I can take care of myself!" Joey said. He smiled and started laughing. Even though she was driving him crazy, he could keep this small secret for her. After all, what was love without trust. Joey walked away, smiling. They would never know.

THE END!

Okay, it was a stupid ending, but I don' t care...I just wanted to write...never thought I'd say that, j/k! LOL! Review if you wanna, if you don't whatever...I'm gonna go work on my other story now...!


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